The Danish parliament has been forced to ditch a South Park-style cartoon aimed at getting young people to vote in the EU elections. The controversial video triggered a storm of complaints over scenes of pornography and violence.

The offending video follows the exploits of Voteman – a
muscle-bound maniac on a mission to make young Danes vote in the
EU elections. The opening scene of the 95-second video sees two
young men discussing the upcoming elections. When one of them
says he probably won’t vote, a giant hand snatches him from the
shot and his severed head falls onto a table in front of his
friend.

The video then cuts to Voteman, naked on a bed surrounded by
amorous, scantily clad women. After receiving a call asking for
his help, he throws the women off him and leaps into action,
jumping astride two captive dolphins, which he uses as
water-skis.

He then embarks on a violent rampage against non-voters,
assaulting them and hurling them into ballot boxes. The spectator
is also treated to a brief history of the protagonist and how he
forgot to vote in an EU election. Deprived of influence over such
issues as climate regulations, agricultural subsidies and the
amount of cinnamon allowed in his cinnamon bun, our protagonist
goes into hulk-like rage and transforms into Voteman.

Needless to say, the video was met with a barrage of complaints
from rights groups, slamming the violent, pornographic and sexist
content of the short film.

In a statement on Facebook, Mogens Lykketoft, speaker of the
Danish parliament, said the video had been taken much more
seriously than its creators had intended.

"Reaction in social media is sharply divided between those
who see this as unacceptably vulgar, and those who think it is
tough but acceptable humor which brings attention to the vote on
May 25,” wrote Lykketoft. "The latter was the intention.
But I acknowledge that Parliament, as an institution, in future
has to show more caution in what we put our name to."

Patrick L Young, a global finance expert said the cartoon was not
only a waste of the 26,000 Euro in taxpayers’ money, but also
showed the lack of oversight by the EU.

“Somehow a group of Danes managed to put together this rather
extreme, rather bad taste European manga anime cartoon with added
pornography and it was approved and posted on a European Union
website,” Young told RT. Although he noted it was quite
“inspiring” that such a video could get through EU
bureaucracy.

The Danish parliament took the video down a day after it was
posted, but it can still be viewed on YouTube (WARNING: SCENES OF PORNOGRAPHY AND
VIOLENCE).

The EU parliament elections will take place from 22 to 25 May. In
the previous elections in 2009, Denmark witnessed a turnout of 60
percent, well over the European average of 43 percent.